A fun way to recruit new volunteers for worthy causes

By Chris Shott
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Brooksby Village hosted its second Volunteer Fair on April 18 in the McIntosh Clubhouse and attracted 26 exhibitors as well as more than 200 interested people who were ostensibly seeking opportunities to volunteer either on campus or externally.

According to Tom Cook, Brooksby’s volunteer coordinator, the primary purpose of the two-hour fair was to introduce community members to local volunteer organizations, provide detailed information on nonprofit groups, and enlist the services of new volunteers.

“The fair is essentially one-stop shopping for volunteer opportunities here at Brooksby and in local communities,” Cook says. “This is how we decided to celebrate ‘National Volunteer Week’ this year and how we get involved in promoting volunteer opportunities.”

Larger turnout
Cook says Brooksby organized its first Volunteer Fair in 2005, but this year’s exhibition was significantly more productive.

“We had a successful fair in 2005, but we had far fewer booths, exhibitors, and browsers,” Cook says. “I think we exceeded our turnout from 2005 in the first 30 minutes this year.”

As a member of the North Shore Association for Volunteerism, Cook contacted local charitable associations to generate interest in and support for the Brooksby event. Of the 25 groups that participated in the fair, 18 originated from outside sources, while the other eight were Brooksbybased organizations.

“At this fair, both the outside groups and the Brooksby groups have the opportunity to disseminate information about their programs and hopefully to enroll new volunteers,” Cook says. “These groups all share a common concern—they need more volunteers.”

Wide variety
The exhibiting nonprofit groups offered a wide variety of volunteer opportunities.